Mirela Maniani ( el, Μιρέλα Μανιάνι, , 21 December 1976) is a Greek retired

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

athlete who competed in the

javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's decathlon and the ...

Life and athletic achievements

Albania

Maniani was born as Mirela Manjani on 21 December 1976 in Durrës,

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

. In 1996, at the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

she set a new Albanian national record at 62.46 m (as of 2017, she still holds the national record of Albania). She represented

Albania at the 1996 Summer Olympics Albania competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. It was only the third appearance of the European nation, which made its Olympic debut in 1972. Athletics ;Women Cycling Shooting ;Women Weightlifting Wrestling Referen ...

Atlanta, USA Atlanta ( ) is the capital city, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georgia, Fulton County, the mos ...

and ranked 24th overall. During the competition she was also Albania's flag bearer.

Greece

After marrying a Greek citizen, the weightlifter Georgios Tzelilis, she received Greek citizenship and represented Greece at the

1997 World Championships in Athletics The 6th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Amateur Athletic Federation, were held at the Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece between August 1 and August 10, 1997. In this event participated 1882 athletes from 19 ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

. Her first major success came in 1999 in

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

, where she won the gold medal at the World Championships with a throw of 67.09 m. Her performance was considered as a

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

, as a new type of javelin had been introduced in 1999. At the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

she won the silver medal with a personal best of 67.51 m. She also won the bronze medal in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

. Maniani is also a European champion and double

world champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

. Her personal best throw of 67.51 metres is the current Greek record. Maniani joined the

Hellenic Navy The Hellenic Navy (HN; el, Πολεμικό Ναυτικό, Polemikó Naftikó, War Navy, abbreviated ΠΝ) is the naval force of Greece, part of the Hellenic Armed Forces. The modern Greek navy historically hails from the naval forces of vari ...

in 1999.

Personal life

Mirela Maniani married the weightlifter Georgios Tzelilis in 1997, and became a Greek citizen. She was known as Mirela Maniani-Tzelili until 2002, when she divorced Tzelilis. Maniani has one daughter from her third wedding with the Greek basketball player Giannis Giannoulis.

International competitions

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maniani, Mirela 1976 births Living people Sportspeople from Durrës Greek female javelin throwers Albanian female javelin throwers Olympic athletes of Albania Olympic athletes of Greece Olympic silver medalists for Greece Olympic bronze medalists for Greece Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for Albania World Athletics Championships athletes for Greece World Athletics Championships medalists Greek European Athletics champions (track and field) Greek people of Albanian descent Naturalized citizens of Greece Albanian emigrants to Greece World Athletics Championships winners